E 

675 
C47 
1872 


CM7 


C47 

MAIN  QUACK  MENDACITY, 

OR, 

VER  THE  SAME; 

y   3   S3fl   003  THAT 

1  ILLUSTRIOUS  PRESIDENTS  HAVE  BEEN  MOST  ABUSED. 

B 

» 


IEFORE  THE 'REBELLION. 

ago,  of  all  the  men  in  the  nation, 
ilifications  and  position,  there 
[•haps,  who  seemed  less  likely  to 
Jt  of  these   United   States  than 
ANT.     Engaged  in   a   vocation 
It   attending   the  "  learned  pro- 
quietly  gliding  down  the  stream 
mambitious,  filling  no  office,  as 
tolding  no  intercourse  with  men 
f,  and  even   unacquainted  with 
|il  Representative  of  his  own.dis- 
'ht  have  lived,  and  so  he  might 
lot  the  clarion  of  war  called  all 
With   devoted    alacrity    he 
ions,  mid  at   once  gave  all  his 
js  exertions  to  the  sacred  cause 

'S   MILITARY   CAREER. 

iis  new   military   career  in    a 
his    rare   ability    was     soon 
he  constantly  rose  from  a  lower 
till    he    was  the  Commanding 
e  forces  of -the  United  States. 
.he  was  found  to  be  fully  ade- 
id  his  eminent  fitness  appeared 
placed.     He,  who  until  the 
the  ,late    rebellion,  had  never 
I'e  than  a  company,  showed  him 
le  management,  evolutions,  and 
idreds  of  thousands-of  soldiers, 
itory    perched    upon  our  ban- 
lous    success  was  obtained  for 
Kind  an   undivided  country.     It 
p  placo   Grant's  military  genius 
lederick  the  Grewtor  Napoleon, 


I  He  is  beyond  question  to  be  ranked  among  the 
i  most  able  as  well  as  the  most  illustrious  Gener 
als  now  in  t^e  world. 

GRANT'S  CHARACTER. 

His  countrymen,  grateful  for  his  distinguished 
services,  and  sensible  of  his   eminent  capacity, 
called  him  to  occupy  the  highest  station  which 
j  man  can  attain.     As  President  of  this  great  Re- 
j  public,  he  has   shown   that  there,  as  in  all  the 
!  humbler  positions  he  has  occupied,  he  was  "the 
|  right  man  in  the  right  place."     One  of  his  pe« 
culiar  traits  is,  that  wherever  he  has   been,  he 
j  confined  himself  to   his  legitimate  duties,  exe*- 
icuting  them  strictly  and  faithfully,  and  never 
(producing  complications,  or  exciting  ill-feeling 
by  trenching  on   the   responsibilities  belonging 
to  others.     It  was  enough  for  him  to  know  his 
own  duty,  and  to  do  it.     This  was  his  course  as 
Captain,  Colonel,  and  General,  and  it  has  been, 
and  will   be,  as  President.    While;  he   shrinks 
from  any  ostentatious  exercise  of  authority,  yet, 
where   his  duty  demands   it,  he  acts  with  a  dis 
cretion   and   a    firmness   that    are   irresistible. 
This    trait  has    distinguished  him,  and   renders 
him  the  very  man  with  whom  to  entrust  the  ex 
ecution    of  the  will  of  an    intelligent  and   free- 
people  desirous  of  efficiency  and  liberty. 

During  the  whole  war  he,  was  incessantly  oc 
cupied  with  the  vast  responsibilities  resting  upon 
jhim,  and  never,  daring  that  time,  attended  a 
theatre  or  other  place  of  amusement,  or  indulged 
I  in  the  enjoyments  and  relaxations  of  society.  He 
I  has  ever  conducted  himself  with  amenity  toward 
all  classes,  and  has  borne  all  his  many  honors 
with  an  inherent  modesty  which  has  never  for  a 
moment  been  obscured,  dazzled  or  intoxicated. 


ARIES 


x' 


1672- 

*F.:,  CHAPPAQUACK  MENDACITY,  MA «M 

OR, 

PARTISAN  MALIGNITY  'EVER  THE  SAME; 

AS  SHOWN  BY  THE  FACT  THAT 

OUR  MOST  ILLUSTRIOUS  PRESIDENTS  HAVE  BEEN  MOST  ABUSED. 


GRANT  BEFORE  THE  REBELLION.  j  He  is  beyond  question  to  be  ranked  among  the 

i  most  able  as  well  as  the  most  illustrious  Gener- 
Twelve  years  ago,  of  all  the  men  in  the  nation,     ,  . 

•  \   •  als  now  in  the  world, 

of  respectable  qualifications  and  position,  there 

was  not  one,  perhaps,  who  seemed  less  likely  to 


GRANTS   CHARACTER. 


become  President  of  these   United   States  than       ,-T-  »*.*>.*     u    j*  i*        •  T    j 

_,  ,    .  His  countrymen,  grateful  tor  his  distinguished 

ULYSSES  S.   GRANT.     Engaged  m   a  vocation          .  _"  * 

,         .  ,          I  services,  and  sensible  of  his   eminent  capacity, 

without  the  eclat   attending   the  "  learned  pro-       ,.    .   ,  .  ,     .  .  .  •   i_.  i 

.,,.,.,  i  called  him  to  occupy  the  highest  station  which 

fessions,    he  was  quietly  gliding  down  the  stream  j  .  ;*         ._b       ... 

.....       .  .  .  V         °  „.  man  can  attain.     As  President  of  this  great  Re 

ef  lite,  obscure,  unambitious,  filling  no  office,  as  I      ,  ... 

.    ,,.  .••  .  ,  !  public,  he  has   shown   that  there,  as  in  all  the 

piling  to  none,  holding  no  intercourse  with  men  I J 

In  high  stations,  and  even  unacquainted  with  |  hu"lbler  P0?11'™8  ^  has  occupied,  he  was  "the 
the  Congressional  Representative  of  his  owu.'dis-  j  nSht  raan  m  tlie  "3ht  Place«  One  of  hls  ^ 
trict.  So  he  might  have  lived,  and  so  he  might  |  cuhar  trfuts  1S>  that  ^"erever  he  has  been,  he 
hav*  died,  had  not  the  clarion  of  war  called  all  |  confined  himself  to  his  legitimate  duties,  exe- 
patriots  to  firms.  With  devoted  alacrity  fcj,  cuting  .them  strictly  and  faithfully,  and  never 


obeyed  the  summons,  mid  at   once  gave  all  his 


producing  complications,  or  exciting  ill-feeling 


powers  and  all  his  exertions  to  the  sacred  cause  I  by  trenching  on   the   responsibilities  belonging 
of  freedom.  ito  others.     It  was  enough  for  him  to  know  his 

own  duty,  and  to  do  it.     This  was  his  course  as 

GRANT'S   MILITARY   CAREER.  ,,       t    .     '        .          ,  ,   „  .  .   .    .         . 

v'aptam,  Colonel,  and  General,  and  it  has  been, 

Commencing  his  new  military  career  in  ajand  will  be,  as  President.  While;  he  shrinks 
humble  capacity,  his  rare  ability  was  soon  j  from  any  ostentatious  exercise  of  authority,  yet, 
recognized,  and  he  constantly  rose  from  a  lower  j  where  his  duty  demands  it,  he  acts  Avith  a  dis 
rank  to  a  higher  till  he  was  the  Commanding  j  cretion  and  a  firmness  that  are  irresistible. 


General  of  all  the  forces  of -the  United  States. 


This    trait  has    distinguished  him,  and   renders 


In  every  position  he  was  found  to  be  fully  ade-  him  the  very  man  with  whom  to  entrust  the  ex- 
quate  to  (ill  il,  and  his  eminent  fitness  appeared  ecution  .of  the  will'of  an  intelligent  and  free- 
wherever  he  was  placed.  He,  who  until  the  j  people  desirous  of  efficiency  and  liberty. 


breaking  out  of  the  .late  rebellion,  had  never 
commanded  more  than  a  company,  showed  him 
self  master  of  the  management,  evolutions,  and 
direction  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  soldiers. 


During  the  whole  war  he.  was  incessantly  oc 
cupied  with  the  vast  responsibilities  resting  upon 
him,  and  never,  during  that  time,  attended  a 
theatre  or  other  place  of  amusement,  or  indulged 


Through  him,  victory  perched  upon  our  ban-  ;  in.  the  enjo}"ments  and  relaxations  of  society.  Us 
ners,  and  a  glorious  success  was  obtained  for  !  has  ever  conducted  himself  with  amenity  toward 
free  institutions  and  an  undivided  country.  It  j  all  classes,  and  has  borne  all  his  many  honors 
is  no  flattery  to  placo  Grant's  military  genius  with  an  inherent  modesty  which  has  never  for  a 
that  of  Frederick  the  Great  or  Napoleon,  moment  been  obscured,  dazzled  or  intoxicated. 


2 


CALUMNIES  CONCOCTED  AGAINST  GRANT, 

Yet  this  man,  whom  it  might  be  supposed 
would  be  unassailed,  has  been,  and  is,  the  target 
for  the  foul  and  acrimonious  abuse  of  disappoint 
ed  office-seekers,  and  sympathisers  with  "  the  lost 
cause.'.'  The  Democratic  press  has  teemed  with 
a  virulence  not  merely  political,  but  personal  ana 
calumnious  to  a  degree  amounting  to  outrage* 
Not  only  has  he  himself  been  pursued  in  this 
shamelwss  manner,  but  the  sanctities  of  his  family 
have  been  invaded,  his  parents,  and  those  of  his 
wife,  his  relatives,  and  his  friends  have  been 
subjected  to  the  same  detraction.  The  vampires 
of  calumny  have  held  high  carnival,  but  never 
has  President  Grant  condescended  to  give  the 
least  notice  to  the  vile  falsehoods  concocted 
against  him  ;  sensible  that  they  are  as  impotent  as 
they  are  venomous.  But  if  Grant  is  subjected  to 
xiiis  vituperation,  scandal  and  misrepresentation, 
so  were  the  greatest  and  most  revered  of  our 
former  Presidents.  Washington,  Jefferson,  and 
Madison  were  more  reviled  and  abused  than 
Grant,  and  preserved  the  same  silence  respectiag 
the  slanders,  and  felt  for  them  the  same  contempt. 
Well  has  Avon's  great  master  of  human  nature 
said:  f-^  .. 

'•  No  raiftht  nor  greatness  in  mortality 
Can  censure  'sc;ipe:  back -wounding  calumny 
The  whitest  virtue  strikes  :   What  King  so  strong 
Can  tie  the  gall  up  m  the  slanderous  tongue?" 

CALUMNIES   AGAINST  THE   FATHERS  OF  THE 
COUNTRY. 

To  illustrate  the  parity  of  personal  and  politi. 
cal  abuse  which  now  pervade  the  Democratic 
press,  with  that  which  equally  existed  in  the  days 
of  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Madison,  I  shall 
present  a  series  of  extracts  from  publications  and 
journals  of  ^hat  period,  which  a  few  days'  research 
in  the  Library  of  Congress  has  enabled  me  to 
compile,  and  which,  by  a  further  employment  of 
time  might  be  increased  to  a  vast  extent.  I  had 
not  the  leisure  to  consult  the  files  of  scarcely  any 
other  papers  than  The  Aurora,  and  the  New  York  i 
Evening  Post,  together  with  some  pamphlets,  ser-  | 
mons,  and  contemporary  histories,  the  titles 
which  will  be  given  with  the  extracts  I  shall 
make. 

DENUNCIATIONS  POURED  OUT  ON  WASHINGTON 

It  might  be  supposed  that  if  any  mortal  man 
in  this  country  could  "  censure  'scape,"  it  would 
have  been  Washington,  but  I  shall  show  that 
Grant  has  not  been  abused  with  more  virulence. 
Speaking  of  the  treaty  which  was  concluded  in 
1795  between  this  country  and  Great  Britain. 
Sparks,  in  his  Life  of  Wasfiington,  p.  467,  says  : 


"  The  controversy,  occasioned  by  it,  increased 
the  violence  of  party  discord  to  almost  an  in 
credible  extent ;  and  even  the  motives  and  Char 
acter  of  Washington  did  not  escape  a  full  meas 
ure  of  the  abuse,  which  was  poured  out  upon 
all  who  approved  the  acts  of  the  administration. 
Regardless  of  truth  and  decorum,  his  detractors 
assailed  him  with  a  license  and  malignity,  which 
showed  an  utter  despair  of  accomplishing  their 
ends  by  honorable  means.  But,  however,  they 
might  excite  his  commiseration,  they  could  not 
disturb  his  peace  of  mind.  '  I  have  long  since  re 
solved,'  said  he,  writing  to  the  Governor  of  Mary 
land,  '  for  the  present,  at  least,  to  let  my  calum 
niators  proceed  without  any  notice  being  taken 
of  their  invectives  by  myself,  or  by  any  others 
with  my  participation  or  knowledge.  Their 
views,  I  dare  say,  are  readily  perceived  by  all  the 
enlightened  and  well  disposed  part  of  the  com- 
rnuuity ;  and  by  the  records  of  my  administra 
tion,  and  not  by  the  voice  of  faction,  I  expect  to 
be  acquitted  or  condemned  hereafter.'  " 

WASHINGTON'S  INDIGNATION. 

If  Washington's  peace  of  mind  was  not  dis 
turbed  by  his  calumniators,  as  Sparks  tells  us,  yet 
there  were  moments  when  he  did  feel  irritated  and 
annoyed  by  them.  Jefferson,  in  his  ANA,  Works, 
Vol.  IX.  p.  164,  gives  an  instance  of  this  kind, 
which  occurred  during  a  Cabinet  meeting,  and 
which  illustrates  the  extreme  bitterness  with 
which  Washington  was  maligned.  Jefferson 
says : 

"  Knox,  in  a  foolish  incoherent  sort  of  a  speech, 
introduced  the  pasquinade  lately  printed,  called 

the  funeral  of  George  W n,  and  James 

W n,  King  and  Judge,  &c.,  where  the  Presi 
dent  was  placed  on  a  guillotine  The  President 
was  much  inflamed  ;  ran  on  much  on  the  personal 
abuse  which  had  been  bestowed  on  him  ;  defied 
any  man  on  earth  to  produce  one  single  act  of  his 
since  he  had  been  in  the  government,  which  was 
not  done  with  the  purest  motives ;  that;  he  had 
never  repented  but  once  the  having  slipped  the 
moment  of  resigning  his  office,  and  that  was 
every  moment  since  he  was  inaugurated  ;  that 
he  had  rather  be  in  his  grave  than  in  his  present 
situation  ;  that  he  had  rather  be  on  his  farm  than 
to  be  made  Emperor  of  the  World  ;  and  yet  they 
were  charging  him  with  wanting  to  be  King. 
That  that  rascal  Freneau  sent  him  three  of  his 
papers  every  day,  as  if  he  thought  he  would  be- 


insult  him  :  he  ended  in  this  high  tone." 

In  a  letter  to  Jefferson,  dated  Mount  Vernon, 
July  6,  1796,  Washington  says :( Writings,  XL 
139.) 

"Every  act  of  my  administration  is  tortured, 
and  the  grossest  and  most  invidious  representa 
tions  of  them  are  made,  by  giving  one  side  only 
of  a  subject,  and  that  too  in  such  exaggerative 
and  indecent  terms  as  could  scarcely  be  applied 
to  a  Nero,  a  notorious  defaulter,  or  even  to  a 
common  pick -pocket." 


WASHINGTON  ASSAILED  IN  CONGRESS. 

Daring  the  very  last  session  of  Congress  before 
the  termination  of  Washington's  Presidency,  a 
complimentary  address  was  prepared  to  present 
him  on  the  occasion  of  his  retirement.  So  many 
amendments  were  oifered,  and  so  much  debate 
and  criticism  took  place  that  Washington,  at 
length,  deplored  the  fact  that  any  such  address 
had  been  contemplated.  In  the  [course  of  the 
debate,  Thomas  Blount  [I  quote  from  Gales  and 
Seaton's  Annals  of  the  Fourth  Congress,  2nd 
Session,  p.  1667:] 

"Mo?ed  to  strike  out  the  following  clause  in 
'  For  our  country's,  sake,  for 


life  he  so  longed  for  and  coveted,  there  appeared 
the  following  paragraphs  in  the  editorial  col 
umns  of  The  Aurora  for  March  6,  1797  \ 

"  '  Lord,  now  lettest  thon  thy  servant-'depart 
in  peace,  for  mine  eye-shave  seen  thy  salvation,' 
was  the  pious  ejaculation  of  a  man  who  beheld 
a  flood  of  happiness  rushing  in  upon  mankind. 
If  ever  there  was  a  time  which  would  license 
the  reiteration  of  the  exclamation,  that  time 
has  now  arrived  ;  for  the  man  'who  is  the  source 
of  all  the  misfortunes  of  our  country  is  this  day 
reduced  to  a  level  with  his  fellow  citizens,  and 
is  no  longer  possessed  of  power  to  multiply 
evils  upon  >  Unite»l  States.  If  ever  there 
was  a  period  iov  rejoicing,  this  is  the  moment. 
Every  heart  in  unison  with  the  freedom  and 


, 

vis.li  that  your  example  may  be  the  guide  of  your  i  exultation  that 
iuccessors  ;  and  thus,  after  being  the  ornament  |  this  day  ceases 
ind  safeguard  of  the  present  age,  become  the  |  iniquity,  and  to 


the  last  paragraph  „     , 

the  sake  of  Republican  liberty,  it-is  our  earnest    happiness  of  the  people  ought  to  beat  witn 

wiah  that  your  examnle  mav  be  the  eruid«  of  your  i  exultation   that   the  name  of  Washington 

successors 

and 

patrimony  of  your  descendants.'  " 

Even  in  favor  of  such  an  excision  there  were 
24  votes.  After  a  fiery  ordeal  for  the  address, 
and  after  various  amendments,  alterations  and 
suppressions  had  been  considered,  it  came  up  lor 
final  passage.  Then  Mr.  Blount  [I  quote  from 
the  same  Annals  of  Congress]  "  wished  the  yeas 
and  nays  might  be  taken,  that  posterity  might  see 


om 

to  give  a  currency  to  political 
legalize  Corruption.  A  new  fcra 
is  now  opening  upon  us  —  a  new  era  which 
promises  much,  to  the  people;  for  public  meas 
ures  must  now  stand  upon  their  own  merits, 
and  nefarious  projects  can  no  longer  be  sup 
ported  by  a  name. 

"When  a  retrospect  is  taken  of  the  Washing 
ton  Administration  for  tight  years  pa$l,  it  is  a 
subject,  of  the  greatest  astonishment  that  n  sin*- 
gle  individual  should  have  cancelled  the  pri;i-> 
ciples  of  Republicanism  in  an  enlightened  peo- 


that  he  did  not  consent  to  the  address."     There  I  pie,  just  emerged   from   the   gulf  of  despotism, 


were  12  votes  against  the  adoption  of  it — 12  who 
resisted  to  the  last. 

GOVERNOR  GILES   AGAINST    WASHINGTON. 

As  a  further  specimen  of  what  was  said  in 
open  Congress  by  men  of  prominence,  I  will 
cite  a  paragraph  from  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Giles, 
himself  a  Virginian,  and  afterwards  Governor 
of  Virginia.  He  said  : 

"As  to  those  parts  of  the  address  which  speak 
of  the  wisdom  and  firmness  of  the  President,  'I 
must  object  to  them.  On  reflection,  I  can  see 


and  should  have  carried  his'designs  agninst  the 
public  liberty  so  far  as  to  have  put  in  jeppardy 
its  very  existence.  Such,  however,  are  the 
facts,  and  with  these  staring  us  in  the  face,  this 
day  ought  to  be  a  jubilee  in  the  United  States. ;? 

Is  President  Grant  denounced  in  worse  terms 
|  than  this  by  the  most  virulent  and  malignant  of 
s  opponents  ? 

MARSHALL  CONCERNING  THE  ABUSE  OP  WASH 
INGTON. 

But  while  a  volume  might  be  compiled  to  ex 
emplify  the  contumely  and  invective  with  which 


a  icant  of  wisdom  and  firmness  in  the  Afl minis-   the  u  Falher  of  his  country  »  .was  critjcjsed,  I 
tranou  for  the  last  six  years.     I  may  be  singular      ,    .,  ir     .  ,  f      ,        ... 

Arhnini-trnMn    i  sna'l  content  myself  with   one   further  illustra 


in  my  ideas,  but  I  believe   our    Administration  ! 

has  been  neither  wise  or  firm.     I  believe,  sir,  i  tive    extract. 


Chief  Justice    Marshall,    in   hia 


a  want  of  wisdom  and  firmness  has  brought  this 
country  into  its  present  alarming  situation.  If, 
after  such  a  view  of  the  Administration,  I  was 
to  come  into  this  house  and  show  the  country  a 
quiet  acquiescence  in  this  address,  gentleufen 
would  think  me  a  very  inconsistent  character. 
lf  we  take  a  view  of  our  foreign  relations,  we 
shall  see  no  reason  to  exult  in*the  wisdoi;  or 
firmness  of  our  Administration.  I  think  no.li- 
ing  so  much  as  a  want  of  that  wisdom  and  firm:  | 


Life  of  Washington,  Vol.  II.,  p.  370,  says: 

11  WASHINGTON'S  military  and  political  charac 
ter  was  attacked  with  equal  violence,  and  it  was 
averred  that  he  was  totally  destitute  of  merit, 
either  as  a  soldier  or  a  statesman.  The  calum 
nies  with  which  he  was  assailed  were  not  con 
fined  to  his  political  conduct ;  even  his  qualities 
as  a  man  were  the  subjects  of  detraction.  That 
he  had  violated  the  Constitution  in  negotiating 


ness  has  brought  us  to  that  critical  situation 
which  we  now  stand." 


i  a  treaty  without  the  previous  advice  of  the  Sen- 
11  I  ate.  and  in    embracing   in    that   treaty  subjects 
|  belonging   exclusively  to    the    legislature,    was 


THE  AURORAS  IMPEACHMENT  OF  WASHINGTON, 
Such  were  some  of  the    scenes    in    Washin*- 


I  openly  maintained,  for  whieh  an  impeachment 
|  was  publicly  suggested  ;  and  that  he  had  draw  p. 

~  ;  from  the  Treasury  for  his  private  use  more  than 

tons  last  Congress;  but    when  his  Presidency  |  the  salary  annexed    to   his   office,  was  asserted 
had  ended,  and  he  had  entered  into  that  private  i  without  a  blush.     This  last  allegation  was  said 


4 


to  be  supported  by  extracts  from  tlie  Treasury 
accounts,  which  had  been  laid  before  the  Legis 
Ifiture,  and  was  maintained  with  the  most  un 
blushing  effrontery.  Though  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  denied  that  the  appropriation 
made  by  the  Legislature  had  been  exceeded, 
the  atrocious  charge  was  still  confidently  re 
ported,  and  the  few  who  could  triumph  in  any 
spot,  which  might  tarnish  the  lustre  of  Wash 
ington's  fame  felicitated  themselves  in  the  pros 
pect  of  obtaining  a  victory  over  the  reputation 
of  a  patriot,  to  whose  single  influence  they  as 
cribed  the  failure  of  their  political  plans." 

INFAMOUS    CHARGES  AGAINST  JEFFERSON. 

I  will  nowpass  to  Thomas  Jefferson.  During 
his  Presidency,  and  during  the  canvass  and 
election  which  preceded  it,  the  whole  vocabu 
lary  of  abuse  was  exhausted  by  the  federal 
press,  and  the  charges  were  constantly  rung 
upon  Carter's  Mountain: — Mrs.  Walker — Black 
Sally— the  purchase  of  Louisiana— the  salt 
mountain— mastodons  and  mammoths — Infi  Jeli- 
ty— the  inviting  Thomas  Paine  to  return  here 
in  a  government  vessel — the  proscription  of 
Federalists — removals  from  office — ingratitude— 

"And  eVriry  taint  of  vice  where  strong  corruption 
Inhabits  our  frail  blood." 

JEFFERSON  SLANDERED  IN  DOGGEREL  VERSE. 

I  shall  first  present  some  poetical  (?)  attacks 
on  the  man  now  so  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of 
his  countrymen,  that  abuse  of  him  almost  seems 
like  blasphemy.  Thomas  Green  Fessenden,  an 
author  and  journalist  of  some  note  in  1805  and 
thereabouts,  wrote  a  Hudibrastic  poem  in  two 
good  sized  duodecimo  volumes,  entitled  "De 
mocracy  Unveiled,  or  lyranny  -stripped  of  the 
Curb  of  Patriotism"  I  have  before  me  the 
third  edition,  pointed  in  New  York  in  1806. 
The  work  had  a  large  circulation,  and  was  very 
popular  in  the  federal  party.  The  federal 
magazines  and  reviews,  and  the  universal  fed 
eral  press  lauded  it  to  the  skies,  and  canonized 
Thomas  Green  Fessenden  as  a  federal  saint  of 
rare  excellence  and  potency.  In  this  scurrilous 
poem,  at  once  unmusical  and  slanderous,  may 
be  found,  scraped  together,  the  filth  and  defa 
mation  which  were  poured  out  in  that  day,  on 
Jefferson,  on  Jefferson's  friends,  and  on  the 
party  to  which  he  belonged.  The  democratic 
traducers  and  calumniators  of  present  times,  in 
manufacturing  the  detraction  and  calumny  with 
•which  they  asperse  President  Grant,  are  only 
fit  pupils  of  the  calumniators  who  endeavored 
to  defame  and  disgrace  Thomas  Jefferson.  But 
they  and  their  infamous  libels  are  forgotten, 


while  the  name  of  the  man  they  hated  shines 
resplendent  in  the  temple  of  fame  with  a  glory 
that  will  be  eternal.  So  will  it  be  with  Grant 
and  his  envenomed  detractors.  From  the  cess 
pools  of  deserved  and  retributive  obscurity  I 
shall  drag  again  to  light  a  few  specimens  of  the 
scurrilous  calumny  which  formerly,  as  now,  .was 
cast  on  merit  by  ignoble,  envious,  and  disap 
pointed  hatred. 

FESSENDEN' s  VITUPERATIVE  RHYMES. 

Thomas  Green  Fessenden,  in  the  third  eanto 
of  his  doggerel,  vituperative  rhymes,  speaking 
of  the  alleged  prevalence  of  anarchy,  says: 

"  The  mouldering  flame  in  eecret  burn'd 
When  Jeficrson  from  France  return' d 
To  aid  the  Factions'  frantic  schemes, 
"With  fresh  illuminated  dreams. 
In  Wei-haunt's  school  his  lesson  learn' d 
He  with  pernicious  ardor  burn'd, 
To  introduce  his  whimsicalities, 
And  make  them  in  our  land  realities. 
Nature  ne'er  made  a  fitter  man 
To  givo  ellect  tw  such  a  plan, 
Nnr  do  I  think,  with  ten  years  pother, 
That  she  could  hit  out  such  another, 
Phlegmatic,  cunning,  and  wrong  headed, 
To  visionary  tenets  wedded, 
A  writer  plausible,  sophistical, 
Never  profound,  but  always  mystical; 
.  PosM'gs'd  of  that  mysterious  air, 
Which  makes  the  gaping  vulgar  stare, 
And  £ives  the  weakest  men  dominion, 
Founded  on  popular  opinion. 
Hin  native  cunning  to  enhance, 
He  adds  the  dark  finesse  of  France, 
Eerlue'd  to  system,  by  the  rules 
Of  Jaeobin-iliumin'd  schools; 
Supported  by  the  factious  heads 
Of  ever  restless  anii-feds, 
RogHrs,  to  true  liberty  a  pest, 
Who  make  her  seat  a  hornet's  nest; 
That  were  no!  justice  in  arrears 
These  new-school  folks  would  lack  their  ears  !" 
&c.t  &c. 

FESSENDEN' s  PUTRID  DOGGEREL. 

"The  Jeffersonian  "  is  the  title  of  the  fourth 
canto  of  "Democracy  Unveiled,"  and  this 
canto  commences  the  second  volume.  It  is 
eighty-two  pages  in  length,  and  in  it  are  re* 
hearsed  all  the  calumnies  with  which  it  was  so 
vainly  attempted  to  tarnish  the  illustrious  au« 
thor  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  I 
will  again  disinter  some  specimens  of  the  cal 
umnious  rancor  which  festers  in  the  putridity 
of  Fessenden' s  doggerel  verse  : 

"We.  otTer  with  all  veneration 
Due  to  his  Highness  high  station, 
O;;r  Cervices  to  daub  and  gloss  over 
A  philanthropical  philosopher. 
The  mighty  chief  of  Carter's  Mountain, 
Of  democratic  power  the  fountain  ; 
We  would  extol,  his  favor  buying 
By  most  profound  and  solid  lying. 
But  shall 'we  undertake  to  hire 


gome  democratic  muse,  a  liar, 
Who  would,  for  pelf,  in  lays  most  civil, 
Sing  hallelujahs  to  the  Devil  ? 
Or  seek  in  dark  and  dirty  alley 
A  Mr.  Jefferson's  Miss  Sally, 
In  o\\rfree  government  no  matter 
Whether  coal  black,  or  swart  mullatto  ? 
Though  his  High  mightiness  was  skittish, 
When~meuae'd  by  the  bullying  Bulish, 
The  Feds  are  wrong. to  make  a  clatter 
About  the  Carter-Mountain  matter.        * 
A  chief  who  stands  not  shilly  shally, 

But  is  notorious  for a  Sally, 

Might  Mars  defy,  in  war's  dire  tug, 
Or  Satan  to  an  Indian  hug. 
Great  men  can  never  lack  supporters, 
""Who  manufacture  their  own  voters; 
Besides  'tis  plain  as  yonder  steeple, 
They  will  be  fathers  to  the  people ; 
And  'tis  a  decent,  clever,  comical, 
New  mode  of  being  economical  ; 
For  when  a  black  is  rais'd,  it  follows 
It  saves  a  duty  of  ten  dollars. 
"Wisdom  in  JEFF  descends  to  cunning; 
Talents— a  knack  at  danger  shunning; 
Morality — to  be  complete  in 
What  some  old  fashion' d  folks  call  cheating. 
In  literature,  his  reputation 
A  fabric  is  without  foundation. 
Hif  style  is  tinsel,  glare  and  whirnsey, 
No  lady's  novel  half  so  flimsy; 
As  full  of  glaring  contradictions 
As  0 viol's  works  are  full  of  fictions; 
And  what,  indeed,  we  might  expect, 
HIS  morals  are  as  incorrect 

As  are  his  writings- froth  and  flummery 

Express  them  both  in  manner  summary. 
Why  don't  our  Carer-hill  commander, 
Who's  so  beset  with  federal  slander, 
Pursue  the  rogues  who  'dare  devise, 
Against  his  Majesty  such  lies  ; 
Because  in  spita  of  his  renown 
HJ  knows  the  truth  would  put  him  down, 
Nor  has  he  hardihood  to  sport 
His  rotten  character  iu  court." 

There  are,  independent  of  prefaces,  introduc 
tion  and  index,  three  hundred  and  ninety-four 
pages  of  this  kind  of  stuff;  but  the  extracts  I 
have  given  will  suffice  as  an  example  of  the 
abuse  and  falsehoods  which  were  so  shamelessly 
circulated  against  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  which 
the  democrats  are  now  endeavoring  to  equal  in 
regard  to  President  Grunt. 

THE   OLD   NBW  YORK  POST  AGAINST  JEFFERSON. 

I  shall  now  exhume  some  prose  specimens  of 
eloquence  quite  equal  to  the  poetical  garlands 
already  exhibited.  In  the  New  York  Evening 
Post,  for  July  20,  1803,  we  are  informed  that — 

"  Mr.  Jefferson  came  to  the  government  by 
means  which  have  raised  thousands  before  him 
to  power,  and  he  will  share  the  fate  of  every 
parasite  of  (those  whom  demagogues  call)  the 
people!  In  1793  he  took  the  fatal  resolution  of 
opposing  to  the  administration  of  the  Federal 
Government  the  farce  of  sophistry,  calumny,  and 
misrepresentation  !  He  has  continued  the  great 
file  leader  of  the  malcontents,  the  vicious,  und  all 
who  favor  revolutionary  liberty.  Mr.  Jefferson 


may  fancy  himself  secure  in  the  wretched  con 
fidence  /of  popularity  ;  but  he  is  deceived  ;  Vint 
will  vanish  and  leave  him  to  repent,  atleisure^  of 
power  ill  gotten  and  scandalously  abused." 

JEFFERSON   DENOUNCED  AS   A  LIAR,  &C. 

On  the  2nd  of  September,  1802,  Mr.  William 
Colmau,  then  Editor  of  the  New  York  Evening 
Post,  thus  expressed  himself  in  his  editorial 
columns  : 

See  Jefferson  convicted  in  the  face  of  dayj'Of 
crimes  the  most  degrading — a  mean  calumniator 
of  men  whose  worth  he  knew,  and  whose  ser 
vices  he  has  seen  !  A  fawning  hypocrite  who  could 
pretend  affection  while  lie  basely  traduced;  a  LIAR 
who  could  proclaim  his  respect  for  characters 
which  to  his  intimates  he  described  as  contemp 
tible." 

The  same  paper  for  June  22,  1802,  says  : 
"  This  [Jefferson]  is  the  man  who  is  eternally 
canting  and  whining  about  executive  influence. 
Take  it  away,  he  exclaims,  take  it  away — and 
his  ministers  say  it  u  taken  away  while  every 
law  is  repealed,  and  all  existing  offices  abolished 
to  get  at  the  federal  officers  and  sacrifice  them  to 
make  room  for  the  friends  and  supporters  of  his 
EXCELLENCY,  plain  Thomas  Jefferson." 

JEFFERSON  RELEGATED  TO  HELL. 

In  the  collection  of  Political  Pamphlets,  in  the 
Library  of  Congress,  Vol  107,  may  be  found  the 
choice  paragraph  which  follows,  and  which  truly 
portrays  the  animosity  felt  toward  Jefferson  by 
his  enemies. 

"  Who  are  the  enemies  of  the  country  ?  Its 
rulers.  What  do  they  deserve  ?  Hell.  A  vaunt 
thou  tyrant.  If  thou  canst  not  be  saved  by  re 
formation,  go  to  Hell  as  thy  proper  abode.  O 
thou  disturber  of  the  peace  ;  thou  destroyer  of 
thousands;  what  hast  thou  done  ?  Ask  Bonaparte, 
ask  the  Devil.  Thy  grave  will  not  secure  thy 
bones  from  burning." 

JEFFERSON'S  PERSON  AND  DRESS  RIDICULED. 

In  the  New  York  Evening  Post,  for  January  7, 
1803,  is  the  following  personal  paragraph,  wherein 
Jefferson's  dress  is  described  in  a  manner  very 
different  from  another  description  which  will  im 
mediately  succeed  this  one  : 

"  We  hear  that  the  mammoth  cheese  has  been 
received  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  at 
Washington,  from  the  charge  of  Parson  Leland. 
It  is  said  tlio  President  stood  in  his  door  to  re 
ceive  it,  dressed  in  his  mit  of  customary  black, 
with  shoes  on  that  close  tight  round  his  andes, 
laced  up  with  a  neat  leather  string,  and  abso- 
|  lately  without  buckles,  considering  them  as  su- 
|  perfluous  and  anti-republican,  especially  when  a 
|  man  has  strings  " 

In  the  same  paper  for  April  20,  1802,  a  Wash 
ington  correspondent  thus  displays  his  graphic 
powers : 


"  Jefferson  is  dressed  in  long  boots  with  the 
tops  pressed  down  about  the  ancles  like  a  Vir 
ginia  buck ;  overalls  of  corduroy,  faded  by  fre 
quent  immersions  in  soap-suds  from  yellow  to  a 


editorial  for  the  Tribune,  World,  or  Patriot.  Bat 
the  people  of  the  United  States  look  back  with 
pride  and  exultation  to  the  administration  of  the 


dull  white  ;  a  red  single-breasted  cloth  waistcoat,  j  illustrious  Jefferson,  well  knowing  that  no  pub- 
bearing  unquestionable  marks  that  he  is  in  the  ilic  duties  were  then  neglected  by  him,  as  none 
habit  of  feeding  without  a  bib  ;  a  light  brown 
coat,  with  dull  brass  buttons,  once  gilt ;  and  both 


coat  and  waistcoat  seem  to  be  aged,  at  least,  five 
years,  more  or  less  :  his  linen  bespeaks  that  close 
attention  to  savings  in  his  dealings  with  his 
washer-woman,  which  has  been  so  much  insisted 
upon  by  Mr.  Bailey;  his  hair  is  undressed,  and 
beard  unshaven. 

"  Such  is  the  figure  to  whom  you  are  presented 
as  President  of  the  United  States." 

SUMNER'S  "SEA-SIDE  LOITERIXGS." 
The  whole  country  is  aware  of  the  obstreper. 
ous  and  hypocritical  howl  which  the  Democratic 
press  sets  up  in  regard  to  the  temporary  absences 
of    President   Grant   from    Washington,   when 


now  are   by  Grant,    notwithstanding  Sumner's 


sonorous  phrases  of  "  absenteeism  "  and  "sea 
side  loiterings."  Whoever  will  look  into  Spark's 
Writings  of  Washington,  (Vol.  I.,  456,  468  ;  X., 
113,  121,  146,  165,  166,  194,  200,  237,  295,  330, 
334,  337,  352,  355,  368,  886,  415,  423  ;  XL,  26, 
54,  07.  69,  85,  130,)  will  find  that  during  his 
whole  administration  he  was  at  Mount  Vernon 
as  much  as  public  business  would  allow  him  to 
be.  Every  year  he  was  absent  from  the  seat  ot 
government  months  at  a  time.  This,  too,  was 
while  New  York  and  Philadelphia  were  re 
spectively  the  seats  of  government,  and  when 


, 

Congress  is  not  in  session.  But  neither  Wash-  j11  re<luire<J  from  four  to  seven  days  for  letters 
ington,  John  Adams,  Jefferson,  or  any  of  the  j to  reach  the  President,  Yet  no  harm  accrued 
former  Presidents  and  their  cabinets,  except  |  on  this  account,  nor  does  it  appear  that,  it  ex* 
Madison  and  Lincoln,  who  had  a  war  to  conduct,  i  P^sed  him  even  to  partisan  criticism,  though 
remained  continually  at  the  seat  of  government  !our  republican  institutions  were  then  making 
during  recesses  of  Congress.  There  is  no  need  I  the|r  first  trial,  and  that  time  was  freighted  with 
of  such  a  constant  residence,  and  such  are  now  tneir  future  hopes. 


ABSENTEEISM   OF  JOHN   ADAMS. 


the.  facilities  of  travel  and  communication,  that 

an  inhabitant  of  the  United  States  may  almost 

be  said  to  be  always  nearly  as  much  in  one  place       A  similar  examination  of  the  Works  of  John 

as  another.     But  there  is  never  wanting  a  reason  \Adams  wil1   show   th&t  he,  too,  was   at  Quincy 

for  reproach  and  .condemnation  where  men  are  \  vvhenever  public  duties  did  not  oompel  his  stay 

purposely  malignant  and  censorious.     The  same  ! at  llie   seat  of  government.     It   required  days 

captious  complaints  that  are  now  leveled  at  Grant  i  for  a  letter  to  reacl1  hiin-     Partisanship  did  as 


are  but  reproductions  of  siniilarjeremiads  uttered 
against  our  most  revered  Presidents. 

ABSENTEEISM  OP  JEFFERSON  AND  CABINET. 

I. give  a  specimen  of  this  clamor  which  ap 
peared  in  the  New  York  Evening  Post  for  June  1, 
1802.  Its  Washington  correspondent  pays  : 

"  -SYMPTOMS  OF  ABSENCE  AND  NKGLECT  OF 
DUTY. — The  President  has  retired  to  Monticello. 
Mr.  Madison,  Secretary  of  State,  is  gone  to  Vir 
ginia.  Secretary  Dearborn  returned  on  the  17th, 
from  an  excursion  to  the  Eastward.  Mr.  Gallatiu 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  is  on  a  party  of  plea 
sure  to  Pennsylvania  and  New  York.  Perhaps 
some  profitable  speculation  may  fall  under  his 


sail  him  on  account  of  this  absence,  and  some  of 
Adams's  friends  were  frightened  at  the  fierce 
objurgations  of  his  opposers.  Not  so  the  old 
chief  himself.  General  Uriah  Forresf,  in  his 
alarm,  wrote  him  a  letter,  dated  Georgetown, 
April  28,  1799,  ( Worto  of  John  Adams,  Vol. 
VIII.,  637,)  in  which  he  says  : 

kt  I  feel  how  improper  it  is,  in  so  inconsider 
able  an  individual  as  I  am,  to  be  intruding  on 
your  time,  much  more,  obtruding  opinions  and 
advice.  I  shall,  however,  hazard  your  censure, 
and  be  guilty  of  the  impropriety  which  stares 
me  in  the  i'ace.  »  #  «  ^j)e  pu|3i-;c 
very  much  against  your  being  so 


sentiment     s    very  muc      ag 

notice,Vs  he  has  much  money  at'command.  The  i  much  away  from  the  seat  of  government,  from 
Postmaster  General  has  gone,  in  the  mail,  to  ! tl  conviction  that,  when  you  are  there,  tho  pub- 
Connecticut.  Mr.  Duane,  (the  particular  friend  HC  vessel  will  be  properly  steered,  and  that 
of  Mr.  Jefforson  and  in  the  absence  of  Mr.  Giles,  i  these  critical  times  require  an  experienced 
one  of  his  constitutional  advisers)  has  repaired  to 'pilot.  The  people  elected  you  to  administer 


Philadelphia.  Levi  Lincoln.  Esq.,  Attorney  Gen 
eral,  was  the  only  public  officer,  resident  at  the 
seat  of  Government,  for  some  time  past." 

ABSENTEEISM  OF  WASHINGTON. 

A  change  of  names  and  dates  would  only  be 


the  government." 

In  a  letter,  dated  Quincy,  May  13,  1709, 
(Works,  VIII.,  G45,)  and  which  date  illustrates 
the  comparatively  slow  transmission  of  mail 
matter  at  that  time,  President  Adams  says  to 


necessary  to  convert  this  paragraph   into  an  j  General  Forrest : 


"I  received  qn  Saturday  your  friendly  letter  ] 
of  28lh  April,  and  I  thank  you  for  it,  and  should 
be  very  happy  if  it  were  in  my  power  to  comply  j 
with  your  advice,  not  so  much  on  account  of 
any  real  public  utility,  as  in  compliance  with 
•.vhat  you  call  the  public  sentiment.  I  have 
iason  to  believe,  however,  that  this  sentiment 
,  chiefly  in  Philadelphia  and  ^Georgetown. 
The  people  elected  me  to  administer  the  gov 
ernment,'  it  is  true,  and  I  do  administer  it  here 
tit  Quincy  as  really  as  I  could  do  at  Philadel 
phia.  The  Secretaries  of  State,  Treasury, 
War.  Navy,  and  the  Attorney  General,  trans 
mit  me  d. lily  by  the  post  all  the  business  of  con 
sequence,  and  nothing  is  done  without  my  ad 
vice  and  direction  when  I  am  here  more  than 
when  I  am  in  the  same  city  with  them.  The 
post  goes  very  rapidly,  and  I  answer  by  return 
of  it,  so  that  nothing  suffers  or  is  lost." 

In  a  note  to  this  letter,  Charles  Francis 
Adams  says,  that  u  in  absenting  himself  from 
the  seat  of  government  during  the  recess  of 
Congress,  Mr.  Adams  did  no  more  than  his 
predecessor,  General  Washington." 

ABSENTEEISM  OF  JEFEERSON. 

Adams's  successor,  Thomas  Jefferson,  was 
no  less  open  to  the  charge  of  "absenteeism." 
An  examination  of  his  Writings,  (Vol.  III., 
195,  265,  456  ;  IV.,  393,  405,  413,  498,  507,  542, 
557,562;  V.,  20,  65,  77,  148,  199,  261,  289, 
299,  368,)  will  show  that,  both  when  Secretary 
of  State  and  when  President,  he  spent  months 
at  a  time  at  Monticello,  and  various  periods  in 
journeys  or  in  hunting.  When  at  Monticello 
it  required  about  seven  days  for  a  letter  to  reach 
him.  But  whenever  public  duty  exacted  his 
presence  at  the  seat  of  government  he  was 
there,  and  the  invectives  of  his  enemies  dis~ 

turbed  him  not. 

• 

VINDICTIVE  TIKADES  AGAINST  MADISON. 

I  now  pass  to  the  administration  of  James 
Madison.  At  that  time  the  United  States  was 
engaged  in  a  second  war  with  the  most  power- 
fnl  nation  on  earth,  as  Great  Britain  then  was. 
The  war  was  eminently  just,  and  had  been  post-< 
poned  as  long  as  our  national  honor  could  suffer 
it  without  stain.  It  was  so  recognized  by  a 
large  majority  of  the  people,  and  under  such 
circumstances  even  dissentients,  who  wish  for 
their  country's  success,  help  to  sustain  the  hand 
of  the  government.  But  never  was  man  abused 
more  by  his  opponents  than  Madison.  Resist 
ance  of  the  fiercest  kind  was  constant,  and  re 
bellion  and  revolution  were  not  only  threatened 
but  almost  executed.  The  same  spirit  of  hatred 
and  opposition  which  caused  the  slave-mongers 
of  the  South  to  rebel,  then  nearly  produced  the 


secession  of  New  England.  I  have  mnny  ex 
tracts  before  me  to  illustrate  my  statements, 
but  the  space  a-t  my  disposal  will  not  allow  me 
to  present  more  than  one  or  two. 

The  Fedefal  Republican  for  November?,  1814, 
says: 

"  On  or  before  the  4th  of  July,  if  James  Madi- 
son  is  not  out  of  office,  a  new  form  of  govern 
ment  will  be  in  operation  in  the  Eastern  section 
of  the  Union.  *  *  Mr.  Madison  cannot 
complete  his  term  of  service  if  the  war  con 
tinues.  It  is  not  possible,  and  if  he  knew  human 
nature  he  would  see  it." 

The  Boston  Gazette  also  said : 

"  Is  there  a  federalist  or  patriot  in  America 
who  will  shed  his  blood  for  Madison  or  Jefferson, 
and  that  host  of  ruffians  in  Congress,  who  have 
set  their  faces  against  us  for  years  ?  Shall  we 
then  any  longer  be  held  in  slavery  by  such"  a 
graceless  faction  ?  Heaven  forbid  !" 

CLEEICAL   DENUNCIATION  OF  MADISON  Al^D   JEF- 
FEKSON. 

I  might  fill  a  folio  volume  with  extract's  of  tile 
same  character  and  virulence,  and  have  before 
me  a  large  number  selected  from  sermons  deliv 
ered  by  the  Rev.  J.  S.  J.  Gardiner,  A.  M.,  Rector 
of  Trinity  Church,  Boston ;  the  Rev.  David 
Osgood,  D.  D.,  Pastor  of  the  Church  at  Medford ; 
the  Rev.  Elijah  Parish,  D.  D.,  and  other  divines, 
also  members  of  the  Church  militant,  who  de 
nounced  Jefferson's  administration  as  "a  diabol 
ical  Trinity,  composed  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  Tom 
Paine  and  the  Devil !  "  I  shall  omit  them,  for 
the  present  at  least,  and  shall  c  nly  add  a  piece  cl 
rim,  but  nevertheless  laughable,  humor  on  the 
part  of  a  clergyman  in  the  State  of  Maine,  whose 
hatred  of  the  Devil  was  mild  in  comparison  with 
that  which  he  entertained  for  Jefferson.  When 
in  the  act  of  public  prayer,  he  said : 

'  Oh  Lord  !  tliou  cornmandest  us  to  love  our 
enemies,  to  do  good  to  those  who  persecute  us 
and  despitefully  use  us,  and  to  pray  for  wretches 
who  are  full  of  wickedness  and  iniquity.  In 
obedience  to  thy  commands,  oh  God  1  do  I  now 
at  this  time,  pray  for  Thomas  Jefferson,  President 
of  these  United  States." 

GRANT'S  FUTURE. 

We  have  seen  how  our  best  and  most  illustri 
ous  Presidents  have  been  the  most  reviled  ;  but 
we  also  know  that  the  great  popular  heart  of  the 
country  was  never  alienated  from  them — that 
they  were  honored  and  beloved  while  living — and 
that  they  were  crowned  with  reverence  and  im 
mortality  in  their  graves.  The  people  called  each 
of  them  to  a  second  Presidential  term,  and  tes 
tified  their  scorn  for  the  detraction  poured  out  on 
the  men  who  were  then  and  will  forever  be  so 


8 


dear  to  them.  Thus  will  it  be  with  President 
GRANT  who  has  been  renominated  and  will  be 
re-elected  by  a  greatful  nation,  that  knows  and 
appreciates  his  excellence  and  his  worth. 


VENOMOUS   SLANDERS  OP  GRANT. 

Among  the  most  persistent  and  malignant  of 
the  traducers  of  Grant,  must  be  ranked  a  man  to 
whom  was  formerly  awarded  a  place  of  respecta 
bility  i:i  the  republic  of  letters.  But  when 
Charles  Suum^r  descends  to  shairjeless  obloquy 
and  malicious  calumny,  he  degrades  himself  to 
the  level  of  Kilpatrick  and  Dana, 

"  And  falls  to  cursing  like  a  very  drab." 

Mr.  Simmer  delights  in  quoting  the  classics, 
and  very  oiten  regales  his  auditors  and  readers 
with  citations  from  Plutarch,  Juvenal,  and  others. 


Scorn  all  his  joy,  and  slander  all  his  aim. 

But  chief  he  gl'ory'd  with  licentious  style 

To  lash  his  betters,  and  their  deeds  revile. 

His  figure  enc-h  as  might  hi? soul  proclaim  ; 

His  iorrn  wag  burly,  and  one  leg  was  lame. 

His  mountain  shoulders  half  his  breast  o'erspread, 

His  tousled  hairs  bestrew'd  his. shaggy  head. 

Spleen  to  the  good  his  envious  heart  itcssest, 

And  much  he  hated  all,  but.  most  the  best : 

Ulysses  or  /\ch;lles  sti.'l  his  theme ; 

But  carping  censure  his  delight  supreme. 

rjihis  caused  the  scorn  of  ev'ry  faithful  Greek, 

\Vho  felt  disgust  when  thus  they  heard  rum  speak. 

Hoarse  was  tiis  voice,  which  in  a  husky  tone 

Hurl'ed  taunts  with  venom  notably  his  own." 

Such  is  the  picture  of  an  ancient  wrangler  in 
whose  footsteps  Mr.  Sunnier  is  treading,  and  his 
hoarse  tones  constantly  reiterate  the  same  stale 
and  vindictive  charges.  They  are  both  contra 
dictory  and  unfounded,  and  have  been  often 
fully  refuted.  But  the  Greeley-democrats  none 
the  less  continue  to  repeat  them.  To  state 
truth  will  have  no  effect,  of  course,  on  the  pre 
meditated  libelers  and  slanderers  of  Grant  and 


In  view  of  his  late  exhibition  of  billingsgate  the  Ptepublican  Partv,  but  it  will  have  its  weight 
oratory,  he  may  be  referred  to  an  ancient  enemy  with  men  of  impartiality,  and  with  those  who 
of  Homer's  ULYSSES  whose  peculiar  view  of  elo-j  are  animated  with  a  regard  for  the  true  welfare 
quence  he  now  seems  very  anxious  to  imitate  and  of  the  country.  The  disorganizers  and  con- 
excel.  We  would  refer  this  arbiter  elegantiarum  !  spirators  in  the  land  will  continue  their  virulent 


to  a  passage  in  the  second  book  of  the  Iliad,  and 
to  Pope's  translation,  somewhat  altered  in  obedi 
ence  to  later  readings !  The  lines  portray  Ther- 
sites,  the  orator  of  the  Trojan  war.  Pope,  in  a 
note  says,  (Vol.  I.  p.  85.)  "  that  Thersites  hated 
Achilles  and  ULYSSES  ;  in  which,  as  Plutarch  has 
remarked  in  his  Treatise  of  Envy  and  Hatred, 
Homer  makes  it  the  utmost  completion  of  an  ill 
character  to  bear  a  malevolence  to  the  best  of 
men."  I  shall  quote  : 

"  Thermites  mxdly  clamor' d  in  the  throng, 
Loquacious,  1  mdi,  and  turbulent  of  tongue; 
Aw  d  oy  no  shame,  by  no  respect  controll'd, 
In  scindal  busy,  in  reproaches  bold ; 
Wiiii  angry  malice  studious  to  defame,      . 


abuse,  but  it  will  be  like  the  darkness  of  night 
attempting  to  blot  out  the  brightness  and  glory 
of  the  resplendent  sun. 

Let  sland'rous  DANA,  grov'ling  on  the  earth, 
Vainly  attempt  to  give  his  malice  birth  ; 
Still  let  him  toil  and  labor  to  rehearse 
Falsehoods  most  vile,  in  either  prose  or  verse; 
Daily  malignant,  let  him  raise  his  voieo, 
And  vent  his  vengeful  spite  in  jarring  noise; 
Unheeded  let  him  lift  his  churlish  cry, 
A  patriot's  mind  his  hatred  can  defy — 
Can  feel  contempt  for  all  his  puny  rage, 
Secure  of  fatn,e  in  this  and  ev'ry  age, 
Always  to  virtue  and  his  country  true, 
Like  that  ULYSSES  whom  great  Homer  drew. 


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